Planning Your Piano Success

A Blueprint for Aspiring Musicians

Stewart Gordon

Addresses the emotional and mental challenges of pursuing a career in the arts

Planning Your Piano Success

A Blueprint for Aspiring Musicians

Stewart Gordon

Description

Young pianists pursuing a professional career face a barrage of questions, choices, and challenges. In this book, experienced teacher and performer Stewart Gordon offers a new and practical way to approach them by helping readers to plan strategically and build a secure and successful career from the ground up. For decades, Gordon has guided young pianists through the details of how to prepare musically, navigate their college years, and forge a career that will provide a livelihood. In this guide to beginning that musical career, Gordon has assembled the wisdom of decades of teaching: a fundamental body of information emerging pianists will rely on as they work toward their goals. His advice, focused on both mental and practical work, will enhance both motivation and security. Carefully balancing aspiration with reality and inspiration with organization, Gordon creates a blueprint for transforming dreams into achievement, and illustrates his points with examples drawn from the lives of famous musicians. The book also addresses many practical matters, such as developing keyboard technique, acquiring reading and memorizing skills, building repertoire, and balancing the demands of being a musician with living a full life. This volume is a valuable resource for both young pianists and their parents.

Planning Your Piano Success

A Blueprint for Aspiring Musicians

Stewart Gordon

Author Information

Stewart Gordon is a well-known pianist, teacher, writer, editor, and entrepreneur. His career spans several decades, first as a performer and now as a teacher and mentor to a new generation of pianists. He has created major music competitions, edited the Beethoven piano sonatas, composed for musical theater, and written books on keyboard literature, performance, and teaching.

Planning Your Piano Success

A Blueprint for Aspiring Musicians

Stewart Gordon

Reviews and Awards

"Gordon manages to make a complicated subject accessable to a wide readership..." -- American Music Teacher

"Planning Your Piano Success is not an exhaustive volume, but it is a terrific resource for budding musicians. It will inspire students to think intensely about making music, and it will encourage them to begin important and thoughtful conversations with their parents and teachers. The book will serve as a guide and a reference, and as an excellent way to begin building the young musician's library."--Clavier Companion